Process executing method, program thereof, and print instructing device

ABSTRACT

Provided is a method of executing a process by a driver using a storing unit having a first region capable of storing data and a second region capable of storing data with lower generality than the first region. The method includes storing a print-related value that relates to printing in the second region when an excess instruction that instructs the print-related value to be a value that exceeds a predetermined value is given. When the print-related value is not stored in the second region, a print instruction is given to a printing apparatus using print setting information including a print-related value stored in the first region at non-storing time. The method further includes giving a print instruction to the printing apparatus by using print setting information including a print-related value stored in the second region at storing time when the print-related value is stored in the second region.

This application is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No.12/700,646, filed Feb. 4, 2010, which claims the priority to JapanesePatent Application No. 2009-026557, filed Feb. 6, 2009, the entiredisclosures of which are incorporated by reference herein.

BACKGROUND

1. Technical Field

The present invention relates to a process executing method, a programthereof, and a print instructing device.

2. Related Art

In related art, a kind of process executing method was suggested that aprinter driver in a computer refers to an optimization table of printsetting information (DEVMODE) according to identification information(ID) of a print object corresponding to an object designated by anapplication to inform the application of the DEVMODE corresponding tothe ID (for example, JP-A-2001-350610). In that method, the printerdriver refers to the DEVMODE optimization table and constructs theDEVMODE to inform the application of the construction and theapplication informs a user of the DEVMODE. Accordingly, it is possibleto inform a user that the user is allowed to select whether the DEVMODEis to be used or not.

In the industry of business printing, there are cases of demanding toprint a same image (for example, a label, a stamp, or the like) on amaterial such as a roll sheet in a large volume. In the above-describedprocess executing method, a specific data size (for example, short type(signed 16 bit) and the like) is often used for data on the number ofprints that are exchanged between an application and a printer drivervia an operating system. For this reason, the number of prints thatexceeds the data size cannot be designated by the application, andprinting of the number of prints that exceeds the range cannot bedesignated in the printer at once. Furthermore, in addition to that,sometimes there are demands for printing on a sheet with a size thatexceeds a predetermined range or printing with a number of pixels thatexceeds a predetermined range. However, printing can be instructed to aprinter only when its size of data is within the range corresponding tosize of data that can be exchanged between an application and a printerdriver.

SUMMARY

An advantage of some aspects of the invention is that a processexecuting method, a program thereof, and a print instructing device ofthe invention enables a print instruction to be given to a printingapparatus by using print-related information including a print-relatedvalue which is a value relating to printing that exceeds a predeterminedvalue.

The process executing method, the program thereof, and the printinstructing device of the invention employed the following elements inorder to achieve the main object described above.

According to a first aspect of the invention, there is provided a methodof executing a process by a driver by using a storing unit that has afirst region capable of storing data and a second region capable ofstoring data with lower generality than the first region. The methodincludes (a) storing a print-related value that is a value relating toprinting in the second region when an excess instruction that instructsthe print-related value to be a value that exceeds a predetermined valueis given, and (b) giving a print instruction to a printing apparatus byusing print setting information including a print-related value storedin the first region at non-storing time when the print-related value isnot stored in the second region and giving a print instruction to theprinting apparatus by using print setting information including aprint-related value stored in the second region at storing time when theprint-related value is stored in the second region, in the case ofgiving a print instruction to the printing apparatus.

In the method of executing a process according to the above aspect, whenthe excess instruction that instructs a print-related value which is avalue relating to printing to be a value that exceeds a predeterminedvalue, the print-related value is stored in the second region capable ofstoring data with lower generality than the first region. Then, in thecase where a print instruction is given to the printing apparatus, atthe non-storing time when the print-related value is not stored in thesecond region, the print instruction is given to the printing apparatusby using print setting information including the print-related valuestored in the first region. At the storing time when the print-relatedvalue is stored in the second region, the print instruction is given tothe printing apparatus by using print setting information including theprint-related value stored in the second region. In other words, at thestoring time when the print instruction is given to the printingapparatus, the print instruction is given to the printing apparatus byusing the print setting information including the print-related valuestored in the second region that has lower generality than the firstregion. Accordingly, it is possible to give the print instruction to theprinting apparatus by using print-related information including aprint-related value that exceeds a predetermined value. Here, the “firstregion” refers to a region that is defined by an operating system andrecognizable by the operating system, an application, and a driver, andthe “second region” refers to a region that is defined by a driver andrecognizable only by the driver. In addition, the “predetermined value”refers to a value corresponding to the size of data that is exchangedbetween the application and the driver when the process executing methodof the invention is a method in which an instruction is received fromthe application to cause the driver to execute a process. Furthermore,in the step (a) above, the print-related value may be stored in thefirst region when the excess instruction is not given.

According to the above aspect of the invention, there is provided themethod of executing a process where the step (a) is storing excessinstruction information on whether the excess instruction is given ornot in the second region, and the step (b) is determining whether it isthe non-storing time or the storing time based on the stored excessinstruction information and giving a print instruction to the printingapparatus based on the result of the determination. Accordingly, it ispossible to perform the print instruction to the printing apparatusaccording to the excess instruction information.

In the method of executing a process according to the above aspect, inthe case where the excess instruction is given, the step (a) may bestoring the print-related value stored in the first region when theexcess instruction is not given in the second region. Thus, in the casewhere the excess instruction is given, the print-related value stored inthe first region with relatively high generality when the excessinstruction is not given may be stored in the second region with lowergenerality than the first region. Accordingly, it is possible to givethe print instruction to the printing apparatus by using theprint-related information including the print-related value that exceedsthe predetermined value.

According to the above aspect of the invention, there is provided themethod of executing a process where the print-related value is a valueincluding at least one of the number of prints, sheet size, and thenumber of pixels. Thus, it is possible to instruct a printing apparatusto perform printing with a large-volume, a large sheet size, and a largenumber of pixels (such as resolution). Here, the “sheet size” refers tothe length of the roll sheet in the longitudinal direction (the windingdirection) when it is used as a print medium onto which a printingapparatus performs printing.

According to the above aspect of the invention, there is provided themethod of executing a process where the predetermined value is an upperlimit of the print-related value that a user is allowed to input whenthe excess instruction is not given. When (c) the excess instruction isgiven before the step (a), it is possible to inform a user that the useris allowed to input the print-related value that is equal to or lessthan a second predetermined value higher than the predetermined value.Thus, it is possible to inform the user that it is the statecorresponding to the excess instruction. Here, the user may be informedby enlarging the region in which the print-related value is input or bydisplaying the upper limit of the print-related value allowable to beinput.

According to a second aspect of the invention, there is provided aprogram for causing a computer to execute the respective steps of theprocess executing method. The program may be recorded on a recordingmedium (for example, a hard disk, a ROM, an FD, a CD, a DVD, and thelike) readable by a computer, may be delivered to a separate computerfrom a computer connected via a transmission medium (a communicationnetwork such as the Internet, a LAN, or the like), or may be transferredor received in any other format. Causing a computer to execute theprogram or causing a plurality of computers to execute the program bydividing the process into respective steps can perform each step of theprocess executing method of the invention according to any aspectdescribed above. Therefore, the same action and effect as the processexecuting method of the invention can be obtained.

According to a third aspect of the invention, there is provided a printinstructing device for giving a print instruction to a printingapparatus. The device includes a storing unit having a first regioncapable of storing data and a second region capable of storing data withlower generality than the first region, a storage controlling unitcausing a print-related value, which is a value relating to printing, tobe stored in the second region when an excess instruction that instructsthe print-related value to be a value that exceeds a predetermined valueis given, and a print instructing unit giving a print instruction to aprinting apparatus by using print setting information including aprint-related value stored in the first region at non-storing time whenthe print-related value is not stored in the second region, and giving aprint instruction to the printing apparatus by using print settinginformation including a print-related value stored in the second regionat storing time when the print-related value is stored in the secondregion, in the case of giving a print instruction to the printingapparatus.

In the print instructing device according to the above aspect, when theexcess instruction that instructs the print-related value which is avalue relating to printing to be the value that exceeds thepredetermined value is given, the print-related value is stored in thesecond region. Then, in the case where the print instruction is given tothe printing apparatus, at the non-storing time when the print-relatedvalue is not stored in the second region, the print instruction is givento the printing apparatus by using the print setting informationincluding the print-related value stored in the first region. At thestoring time when the print-related value is stored in the secondregion, the print instruction is given to the printing apparatus byusing the print setting information including the print-related valuestored in the second region. In other words, when the print instructionis given to the printing apparatus at the storing time, the printinstruction to the printing apparatus is given by using the printsetting information including the print-related value stored in thesecond region with lower generality than the first region. Accordingly,it is possible to give the print instruction to the printing apparatusby using the print setting information including the print-related valuethat exceeds the predetermined value.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a structural diagram schematically illustrating theconfiguration of a user PC and a printer.

FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating an example of a RAM.

FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating an example of a print setting screen.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart illustrating an example of a process routine whena property button is pressed.

FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating an example of a property screen.

FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating another example of the property screen.

FIG. 7 is a flowchart illustrating an example of a print instructiontransmitting routine.

FIG. 8 is a diagram illustrating an example of large-volume printing.

DESCRIPTION OF EXEMPLARY EMBODIMENTS

Hereinafter, an exemplary embodiment of the process executing methodaccording to the invention will be explained in detail with reference toaccompanying drawings. FIG. 1 is a structural diagram schematicallyillustrating the configuration of a user personal computer (PC) 10 as aprint instructing device and a printer 30 as a printing apparatusaccording to an embodiment of the invention. The user PC 10 is awell-known general computer configured as a print instructing device fora computer user. The user PC 10 includes a controller 11 constituted bya CPU 12 that executes various controls, a ROM 13 that stores variousprocessing programs, and a RAM 14 that temporarily stores data, HDD 15which is a large-capacity memory for storing various applicationprograms and data files, and a USB controller 16 that performs input andoutput of data between external devices connected to a USB port 16 a.The HDD 15 stores an operating system 20, an application program 22 thathas functions of creating, editing, and instructing printing a documentor an image, and a printer driver 24 that is used for processingprinting by transmitting a print job to the printer 30. The user PC 10includes an input device 17 such as a keyboard or a mouse that enables auser to input various commands, and a display 18 that displays variousinformation on the screen, and has a function of executing processes inresponse to input operations when a user inputs a cursor or the likedisplayed on the display 18 with the input device 17. The controller 11,the HDD 15, the USB controller 16, the input device 17 and the display18 are electrically connected to one another via a bus 19, andconfigured to enable exchange of various control signals or data. Theuser PC 10 transmits a print instruction to the printer 30 and displaysthe information of the printer 30.

The printer 30 is a printer for a large-scale printing of a document oran image onto a roll sheet P mounted on a mounting part, and includes acontroller 31 having a ROM 33 that stores various processing programsand a RAM 34 that temporarily stores data and in charge of controllingthe entire apparatus as a microprocessor constituted mainly by a CPU 32,a printing mechanism 35 for processing printing of an image onto theroll sheet P, and a USB controller 36 capable of inputting andoutputting information between external devices connected to a USB port36 a. The controller 31, the printing mechanism 35, and the USBcontroller 36 are electrically connected to one another via a bus (notshown in the drawing). The printing mechanism 35, not shown in FIG. 1,is an ink jet type mechanism that puts pressure on various colors ofink, and executes a printing process by discharging the pressurized inkonto the roll sheet P. The mechanism of putting pressure on ink mayarise from the deformation of a piezoelectric element or the generationof bubbles due to the heat of a heater.

Next, the operation of the user PC 10 according to the embodimentconfigured as above, particularly the operation when a print instructionis given to the printer 30 will be described. First of all, theoperation when a user selects printing of a document or an image duringthe execution of the application program 22 will be explained, and thenthe operation when a print instruction is given to the printer 30 willbe explained, for the sake of convenient explanation.

When a user selects printing of a document or an image during theexecution of the application program 22, the CPU 12 of the controller 11first writes initial values (default values) of print setting(hereinafter, referred to as Devmode) of the printer 30 stored in theHDD 15 on a Public region 14 a or a Private region 14 b secured in theRAM 14 as a region for storing the Devmode as shown in FIG. 2. Here, thePublic region 14 a is defined by the operating system 20 andrecognizable by the operating system 20, the application program 22, andthe printer driver 24 (a region with relatively high generality). ThePrivate region 14 b is defined by the printer driver 24 and recognizableonly by the printer driver 24 (a region with lower generality than thePublic region 14 a). In this embodiment, the Public region 14 a iswritten with data such as the number of prints, a sheet size, thedirection of printing, and the layout of a page in the Devmode. ThePrivate region 14 b is written with data such as a printing mode, arecording method, and color matching in the Devmode. In addition, in thepresent embodiment, a specific data size (for example, short type(signed 16 bit)) may be used for respective data of the Devmodeexchanged between the application program 22 and the printer driver 24via the operating system 20. For this reason, the number of printswritten in the Public region 14 a is a value equal to or less than theupper limit of the number of prints (for example, a number with 3 or 4digits, hereinafter referred to as a first upper limit of the number ofprints Nmax 1) set in advance within the range of the specific data size(1 to 32767 in the case of the short type). In FIG. 2, the Privateregion 14 b is written with a large-volume flag F indicating whetherprinting in a large volume is set or not, and the number of prints whenpredetermined conditions are satisfied, which will be described later.

When the default values of the Devmode are written in the Public region14 a or the Private region 14 b in the RAM 14 as above, the CPU 12carries out a process of requesting the Devmode from the printer driver24 as a process by the application program 22, then a process of readingthe Devmode stored in the RAM 14 to output to the application program 22as a process by the printer driver 24, and a process of displaying aprint setting screen 40 on the display 18 by using the Devmode from theprinter driver 24 as a process by the application program 22. An exampleof the print setting screen 40 is shown in FIG. 3. As shown in thedrawing, the print setting screen 40 is constituted by a title bar 41that is provided in the upper portion of the print setting screen 40 ina strip shape to display a Windows title (“print” in this embodiment),and a main screen 42 that is provided below the title bar 41. The mainscreen 42 includes a printer name displaying portion 43 for displayingthe name of the printer 30, a printer information displaying portion 44for displaying information of the printer 30 provided by the printerdriver 24, a property button 45 for displaying a property screen 50which will be described later, a print range setting portion 46 forsetting the range of printing, a number of prints setting portion 47 forsetting the number of prints, an OK button 48, and a cancel button 49.Here, the number of prints setting portion 47 is configured to be inputwith a value equal to or less than the first upper limit of the numberof prints by a user as described above. Moreover, in the presentembodiment, a value that a user can change on the print setting screen40 is deemed as a value (such as the number of prints) written in thePublic region 14 a. Furthermore, for the sake of convenient descriptionin the following description, a user is assumed not to change the value(such as the number of prints) on the print setting screen 40.

When the property button 45 on the print setting screen 40 is pressed bya user while the print setting screen 40 is displayed on the display 18,the CPU 12 causes the printer driver 24 to execute a process, inparticular, each process routine upon pressing the property button asshown in FIG. 4. When the process routine upon pressing the propertybutton is executed, the CPU 12 first reads the Devmode written in thePublic region 14 a and the Private region 14 b in the RAM 14, anddisplays the property screen 50 on the display 18 by using the readDevmode (Step S100). An example of the property screen 50 is shown inFIG. 5. The property screen 50 includes a title bar 51 that is providedin the upper portion of the property screen 50 in a strip shape anddisplays a Windows title (“Properties of the Printer 30” in thisembodiment), and a main screen 52 provided below the title bar 51. Themain screen 52 includes a sheet size setting portion 53 for setting thesize of a sheet, a number of prints setting portion 54 for setting thenumber of prints, a large-volume setting portion 55 for setting whetherto execute a large-volume printing, an OK button 56, and a cancel button57. Here, the number of prints setting portion 54 is configured to beinput with a value equal to or less than the first upper limit of thenumber of prints Nmax 1 by a user in the same manner as the number ofprints setting portion 47 on the print setting screen 40 when thelarge-volume setting portion 55 is not checked. In FIG. 5, the valuefilled in the number of prints setting portion 54 is an example of themaximum number of prints (the first upper limit of the number of printsNmax 1) that is possible to be input.

Subsequently, it is determined whether the large-volume setting portion55 on the property screen 50 is checked (Step S110), and when it isdetermined that the large-volume setting portion 55 is not checked, thelarge-volume flag F which indicates whether large-volume printing is setor not is set to the value “0” (Step S120), and the size of the regionof the number of prints setting portion 54 is displayed on the display18 in a normal size (Step S130). Then, it is determined whether the OKbutton 56 on the property screen 50 is pressed by a user or not (StepS160), and when it is determined that the OK button 56 is not pressed,the process returns to Step S110. In other words, when the state wherethe large-volume setting portion 55 is not checked is maintained, thesize of the region of the number of prints setting portion 54 ismaintained to be a normal size. At this point, the user can input avalue equal to or less than the first upper limit of the number ofprints Nmax 1 into the number of prints setting portion 54.

On the other hand, when it is determined that the large-volume settingportion 55 is checked in Step S110, the large-volume flag F is set tothe value “1” (Step S140), and the size of the region of the number ofprints setting portion 54 is displayed on the display 18 in an enlargedsize larger than the normal size (Step S150). Then, it is determinedwhether the OK button 56 on the property screen 50 is pressed by theuser or not (Step S160), and when it is determined that the OK button 56is not pressed, the process returns to Step S110. An example of theproperty screen 50 at that point is shown in FIG. 6. In FIG. 6, thenumber of prints setting portion 54 has an enlarged size of a value thatis greater than the size of the data (for example, a short type)exchanged between the application program 22 and the printer driver 24via the operating system 20 or than the first upper limit of the numberof prints Nmax 1, and is equal to or less than the upper limit of thenumber of prints (for example, the number of prints with 6 or 7 digits,and hereinafter referred to as a second upper limit of the number ofprints Nmax 2) set in advance within the range corresponding to thespecifications of the printer driver 24 so that the user can input thesize of the value. Moreover, the value filled in the number of printssetting portion 54 in the drawing is an example of the maximum number ofprints (the second upper limit of the number of prints Nmax 2) that ispossible to be input. In other words, in the process of Step S150, fromwhen the large-volume setting portion 55 is not checked to when theportion is checked, the size of the region of the number of printssetting portion 54 is enlarged to be an enlarged size from the normalsize. When the state where the large-volume setting portion 55 ischecked is maintained, the size of the region of the number of printssetting portion 54 is maintained to be the enlarged size. As above, byenlarging the size of the region of the number of prints setting portion54 when the large-volume setting portion 55 is checked bigger than thesize when the portion 55 is not checked, it is possible to inform theuser that the maximum number of prints that is possible to be input intothe number of prints setting portion 54 became greater to be the secondupper limit of the number of prints Nmax 2 from the first upper limit ofthe number of prints Nmax 1.

When it is determined that the OK button 56 is pressed in Step S160, thevalue of the large-volume flag F is examined (Step S170). When thelarge-volume flag F is the value “0”, the number of prints, the sheetsize, the direction of printing, the layout of a page and the like inthe Devmode are written in the Public region 14 a, and the large-volumeflag F, the printing mode, the recording method, the color matching andthe like in the Devmode are written in the Private region 14 b (StepS180). Then the property screen 50 is closed (Step S200), and theroutine ends. In addition, the number of prints written in the Publicregion 14 a at that point is a value equal to or less than the firstupper limit of the number of prints Nmax 1.

On the other hand, when the large-volume flag F is the value “1” in StepS170, the large-volume flag F and the number of prints in the Devmodeare written in the Private region 14 b, and data other than the numberof prints in the Devmode are written in the Public region 14 a and thePrivate region 14 b in the same manner as when the large-volume flag Fis the value “0” (Step S190). Then, the property screen 50 is closed(Step S200), and the routine ends. In other words, when the large-volumeflag F is the value “1”, the number of prints is written not in thePublic region 14 a but in the Private region 14 b (see the Privateregion 14 b in FIG. 2). The number of prints written in the Privateregion at that point is a value equal to or less than the second upperlimit of the number of prints Nmax 2. Furthermore, when the propertyscreen 50 is closed in the state where the large-volume setting portion55 is checked, the CPU 12 causes the application program 22 to execute aprocess to display the large number of prints (for example, 999 or 9999)set in advance in the number of prints setting portion 47 on the printsetting screen 40. Accordingly, the user can be informed that thelarge-volume setting portion 55 is checked.

Next, the operation of the user PC 10 when a print instruction is givento the printer 30 will be described. When a user presses the OK button48 on the print setting screen 40 in FIG. 3, the CPU 12 causes theprinter driver 24 to execute a process by using the Devmode, the printinstruction, and the print data from the application program 22, inparticular, each process of a print instruction transmitting routine asshown in FIG. 7. When the print instruction transmitting routine isexecuted, the CPU 12 inputs and examines a value of the large-volumeflag F written in the Private region 14 b (Steps S300 and S310). Whenthe large-volume flag F is the value “0”, it is determined that thelarge-volume setting portion 55 is not checked, and is assumed that thevalues (for example, the number of prints, and the like) on the printsetting screen 40 is not changed. Accordingly, the Devmode (the numberof prints is the value written in the Public region 14 a), the printdata (characters, images, or the like), and the print instructionwritten in the Public region 14 a and the Private region 14 b aretransmitted to the printer 30 (Step S320), and the routine ends. Theprinter 30 that received the Devmode, the print data, and the printinstruction carries out printing onto the roll sheet P. When the userchanges the value (the number of prints, and the like) on the printsetting screen 40 after closing the property screen 50, the valuechanged and output from the application program 22 is written in thePublic region 14 a and the written value is read to be transmitted tothe printer 30, as a process of Step S320.

On the other hand, when the large-volume flag F is the value “1” in StepS310, it is determined that the large-volume setting portion 55 ischecked, and is assumed that the value (the number of prints, and thelike) on the print setting screen 40 is not changed at that point.Accordingly, the Devmode (the number of prints is the value written inthe Private region 14 b), the print data, and the print instructionwritten in the Public region 14 a and the Private region 14 b aretransmitted to the printer 30 (Step S330), and the routine ends. Inother words, when the large-volume flag F is the value “1”, the value inthe Private region 14 b (equal to or less than the second upper limit ofthe number of prints Nmax 2), not the value in the Public region 14 a,is used for the number of prints in the Devmode. Furthermore, when theuser changes the value on the print setting screen 40 after closing theproperty screen 50, the value changed and output from the applicationprogram 22 is written in the Public region 14 a and the written value isread and transmitted to the printer 30 in the case where the value isnot the number of prints, as a process of Step S330. On the other hand,in the case where the value changed and output from the applicationprogram 22 is the number of prints, the change is ignored, and thenumber of prints written in the Private region 14 b is read to betransmitted to the printer 30. The printer 30 that received the Devmode,the print data and the print instruction carries out printing onto theroll sheet P. An example of large-volume printing by the printer 30 whenthe large-volume flag F is the value “1” is shown in FIG. 8. In theindustry of business printing, there are cases of demanding to print asame image (for example, a label, a stamp, or the like) on a materialsuch as a roll sheet P in a large volume. However, the CPU 12 caninstruct the printer 30 to perform large-volume printing that exceedsthe range of the data size (for example, short type) exchanged betweenthe application program 22 and the printer driver 24 via the operatingsystem 20 by causing the printer driver 24 to execute theabove-described process. Moreover, since it is possible to instruct theprinter 30 to perform the large-volume printing only with the check inthe large-volume setting portion 55, it is possible easily to switchwhether to perform the large-volume printing or not. In addition, sinceit is possible to instruct the printer 30 to perform large-volumeprinting through the process by the printer driver 24, it is possible toinstruct the printer 30 to perform large-volume printing regardless ofthe kind of the operating system 20 or the application program 22.

The reciprocal relation between the constituent components of thepresent embodiment and the constituent components of the invention willbe clarified below. The process in Step S170 and S190 of the processroutine when the property button is pressed as shown in FIG. 4 accordingto the present embodiment corresponds to the process in the step (a) ofthe invention, and each process of the print instruction transmittingroutine as shown in FIG. 7 corresponds to the process in the step (b) ofthe invention. In addition, the user PC 10 of the present embodimentcorresponds to the print instructing device of the invention, the RAM 14to the storing unit, and the CPU 12 for causing the printer driver 24 toexecute a process to the storage controlling unit and print instructingunit. The description on the operation of the user PC 10 in the presentembodiment clarifies an example of the process executing method of theinvention.

According to the user PC 10 of the embodiment described above, when thelarge-volume setting portion 55 is checked, the large-volume flag F isset to the value “1” and the large-volume flag F and the number ofprints in the Devmode are written in the Private region 14 b. At thesame time, the data other than the number of prints in the Devmode arewritten in the Public region 14 a and the Private region 14 b in thesame manner as when the large-volume setting portion 55 is not checked.In the case of giving a print instruction to the printer 30, the printinstruction is given to the printer 30 by using the Devmode includingthe number of prints written in the Public region 14 a when thelarge-volume flag F is the value “0”. On the other hand, the printinstruction is given to the printer 30 by using the Devmode includingthe number of prints written in the Private region 14 b when thelarge-volume flag F is the value “1”. Therefore, it is possible toinstruct the printer 30 to perform large-volume printing that exceedsthe range of the size of the data exchanged between the applicationprogram 22 and the printer driver 24 via the operating system 20.

The invention is not limited to the embodiment described above, andvarious modifications of the invention is possible as long as theybelong to the technical scope of the invention.

In the embodiment described above, the property screen 50 includes thelarge-volume setting portion 55. However, the property screen mayinclude a setting portion for setting whether a value relating toprinting is a value that exceeds a predetermined value, may include alarge size setting portion for setting whether to perform printing in asheet size that exceeds a predetermined size set in advance (forexample, the length of the roll sheet P in the longitudinal direction(the winding direction) is longer than a predetermined length), inaddition to or instead of the large-volume setting portion 55, or mayinclude a large number of pixels setting portion for setting whether toperform printing with the number of pixels that exceeds a predeterminednumber of pixels set in advance. Furthermore, in the case where theproperty screen 50 has the large-volume setting portion 55, the largesize setting portion, and the large number of pixels setting portion,when the OK button 56 on the property screen 50 is pressed, the flag F2the value of which is set to “1” when at least one of the large-volumesetting portion 55, the large size setting portion, and the large numberof pixels setting portion is checked and the value of which is set to“0” when all of the portions are not checked and the data (such as thenumber of prints, the sheet size, and the number of pixels) relating tothe portions that are checked are stored in the Private region 14 b, andthe data relating to the portions that are not checked are stored in thePublic region 14 a. Then, in the case where a print instruction is givento the printer 30, when the flag F2 is the value “1”, the value writtennot in the Public region 14 a but in the Private region 14 b may be usedfor the data relating to the portions that are checked.

In the above-described embodiment, when the large-volume setting portion55 is checked, a user is informed that the maximum number of prints thatis possible to be input into the number of prints setting portion 54 hasbecome greater to be the second upper limit of the number of prints fromthe first upper limit of the number of prints by enlarging the region ofthe number of prints setting portion 54 in comparison with the time whenthe large-volume setting portion 55 is not checked. However, it may bepossible to inform the user that the maximum number of prints that ispossible to be input into the number of prints setting portion 54 hasbecome greater with another method (for example, by a display or soundnotification of the maximum number of prints that is possible to beinput) than the above-mentioned method, or it may not be informed to theuser.

In the above-described embodiment, it has been described that the statewhere the property screen 50 (see FIG. 5) on which the large-volumesetting portion 55 is not checked is displayed on the display 18, inother words, the state where the large-volume setting portion 55 is notchecked, when the property button 45 on the print setting screen 40 ispressed, is set to default values of the Devmode. However, when thestate where the large-volume setting portion 55 is checked is set to thedefault values of the Devmode, and when the user selects printing of adocument or an image during the execution of the application program 22to display the print setting screen 40 on the display 18, the largenumber of prints (for example, 999 or 9999) set in advance in the numberof prints setting portion 47 may be displayed.

In the above-described embodiment, in the case where a print instructionis given to the printer 30, the print instruction to the printer 30 isperformed according to the value of the large-volume flag F. However,the print instruction to the printer 30 may be performed according towhether the print-related value which is a value relating to printingand exceeds a predetermined value (the number of prints in thisembodiment) is stored in the Private region 14 b or not, instead of thelarge-volume flag F.

In the above-described embodiment, when the OK button 56 is pressed in astate where the large-volume setting portion 55 is checked and then theproperty screen 50 is closed, the large number of prints (for example,999 or 9999), which is set in advance in the number of prints settingportion 47 on the print setting screen 40, is displayed. Instead, thevalue “1” may be displayed, or that the large-volume setting portion 55is checked may be displayed with another method.

The embodiment above has described the user PC 10 as a print instructingdevice. However, the embodiment may be about a process executing methodof executing a process by a driver, and about a program for executing aprocess executing method.

What is claimed is:
 1. A printing apparatus comprising: a printingmechanism for printing onto a sheet; a storing unit having a firstregion capable of storing a first data and a second region capable ofstoring a second data; a storage controlling unit causing aprint-related value to be stored in the second region when an excessinstruction that is an instruction for defining the print-related valueas a value that exceeds a predetermined value is given; and a printinstructing unit giving a first print instruction to a printingmechanism by using print setting information including the first datawhen the print-related value is not stored in the second region, andgiving a second print instruction to the printing mechanism by usingprint setting information including the second data when theprint-related value is stored in the second region, in a case of givinga print instruction to the printing mechanism.
 2. The printing apparatusaccording to claim 1, wherein the first region is defined by theoperating system and recognizable by the operation system, anapplication program, and a printer driver; the second region is definedby the printer driver and recognizable only by the printer driver. 3.The printing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the upper limit ofthe print-related value is stored in the second region when theprint-related value is stored in the second region.
 4. The printingapparatus according to claim 1, wherein the print-related valuecomprises a value including at least one of the number of copies, thesize of a sheet, and the number of pixels.
 5. The printing apparatusaccording to claim 1, wherein the predetermined value comprises an upperlimit of the print-related value that a user is allowed to input whenthe excess instruction is not given, and the method further comprises:informing a user that the user is allowed to input the print-relatedvalue that is equal to or less than a second predetermined value higherthan the predetermined value when the excess instruction is given beforethe storing of the print-related value.